The improved understanding of various physiological regulatory pathways enabled through the research efforts in genomics and proteomics has begun to impact the discovery of novel pharmaceutical agents. In particular, the identification of key receptors and their endogenous ligands has created new opportunities for exploitation of these receptor/ligand pairs as therapeutic targets. For example, ghrelin is a recently characterized 28-amino acid peptide hormone isolated originally from the stomach of rats with the orthologue subsequently identified in humans. (Kojima, M.; Hosoda, H. et al. Nature 1999, 402, 656-660.) The existence of this peptide in a range of other species suggests a conserved and important role in normal body function. This peptide has been demonstrated to be the endogenous ligand for a previously orphan G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), type 1 growth hormone secretatogue receptor (hGHS-R1a) (Howard, A. D.; Feighner, S. D.; et al. A receptor in pituitary and hypothalamus that functions in growth hormone release. Science 1996, 273, 974-977.) found predominantly in the brain (arcuate nucleus and ventromedial nucleus in the hypothalamus, hippocampus and substantia nigra) and pituitary. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,242,199; Intl. Pat. Appl. Nos. WO 97/21730 and WO 97/22004) The receptor has also been detected in other areas of the central nervous system (CNS) and in peripheral tissues, for instance adrenal and thyroid glands, heart, lung, kidney, and skeletal muscles. This receptor was identified and cloned prior to the isolation and characterization of the endogenous peptide ligand and is distinct from other receptors involved in the regulation of growth hormone (GH) secretion, in particular, the growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) receptor.
A unique characteristic of both the rat and human peptides is the presence of the n-octanoyl (Oct) moiety on Ser3. However, the des-acyl form predominates in circulation, with approximately 90% of the hormone in this form. This group is derived from a post-translational modification and appears relevant for bioactivity and possibly also for transport into the CNS. (Banks, W. A.; Tschöp, M.; Robinson, S. M.; Heiman, M. L. Extent and direction of ghrelin transport across the blood-brain barrier is determined by its unique primary structure. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 2002, 302, 822-827.) In a GH-releasing assay, the des-octanoyl form of the hormone was at least 100-fold less potent than the parent peptide, although it has been suggested that the des-acyl species may be responsible for some of the other biological effects associated with ghrelin. This des-acyl form has also been postulated to be primarily responsible for the cardiovascular and cell proliferation effects attributed to ghrelin, while the acylated form participates in maintenance of energy balance and growth hormone release. (Baldanzi, G.; Filighenddu, N.; Cutrupi, S.; et al. Ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin inhibit cell death in cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells through ERK1/2 and PI-3 kinase/AKT. J. Cell Biol. 2002, 159, 1029-1037) Similarly, des-Gln14-ghrelin and its octanoylated derivative have been isolated as endogenous forms of the hormone arising from alternative splicing of the ghrelin gene, but both are found to be inactive in stimulating GH release in vivo. (Hosoda, H.; Kojima, M.; Matsuo, H.: Kangawa, K. Purification and characterization of rat des-Gln14-ghrelin, a second endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor. J. Biol. Chem. 2000, 275, 21995-2120.). Other minor forms of ghrelin produced by post-translational processing have been observed in plasma, although no specific activity has been attributed to them. (Hosoda, H.; Kojima. M.; et al. Structural divergence of human ghrelin. Identification of multiple ghrelin-derived molecules produced by post-translational processing. J. Biol. Chem. 2003, 278, 64-70.)
Even prior to the isolation of this receptor and its endogenous peptide ligand, a significant amount of research was devoted to finding agents that can stimulate GH secretion. The proper regulation of human GH has significance not only for proper body growth, but also a range of other critical physiological effects. GH and other GH-stimulating peptides, such as GHRH and growth hormone releasing factor (GRF), as well as their derivatives and analogues, are administered via injection. Therefore, to better take advantage of these positive effects, attention was focused on the development of orally active therapeutic agents that would increase GH secretion, termed GH secretagogues (GHS). Additionally, use of these agents was expected to more closely mimic the pulsatile physiological release of GH.
Beginning with the identification of the growth hormone-releasing peptides (GHRP) in the late 1970's. (Bowers, C. Y. Growth hormone-releasing peptides: physiology and clinical applications. Curr. Opin. Endocrinol. Diabetes 2000, 7, 168-174; Camanni, F.; Ghigo, E.; Arvat, E. Growth hormone-releasing peptides and their analogs. Front. Neurosci. 1998, 19, 47-72; Locatelli, V.; Torsello, A. Growth hormone secretagogues: focus on the growth hormone-releasing peptides. Pharmacol. Res. 1997, 36, 415-423.) a host of agents have been studied for their potential to act as GHS. In addition to their stimulation of GH release and concomitant positive effects in that regard, GHS were projected to have utility in the treatment of a variety of other disorders, including wasting conditions (cachexia) as seen in HIV patients and cancer-induced anorexia, musculoskeletal frailty in the elderly, and growth hormone deficient diseases. Many efforts over the past 25 years have yielded a number of potent, orally available GHS. (Smith, R. G.; Sun, Y. X.; Beatancourt, L.; Asnicar, M. Growth hormone secretagogues: prospects and pitfalls. Best Pract. Res. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2004, 18, 333-347; Fehrentz, J.-A.; Martinez, J.; Boeglin, D.; Guerlavais, V.; Deghenghi, R. Growth hormone secretagogues: Past, present and future. IDrugs 2002, 5, 804-814; Svensson, J. Exp. Opin. Ther. Patents 2000, 10, 1071-1080; Nargund, R. P.; Patchett, A. A.; et al. Peptidomimetic growth hormone secretagogues. Design considerations and therapeutic potential. J. Med. Chem. 1998, 41, 3103-3127; Ghigo, E; Arvat, E.; Camanni, F. Orally active growth hormone secretagogues: state of the art and clinical perspective. Ann. Med. 1998, 30, 159-168; Smith, R. G.; Van der Ploeg, L. H. T.; Howard, A. D.; Feighner, S. D.; et al. Peptidomimetic regulation of growth hormone secretion. Endocr. Rev. 1997, 18, 621-645.) These include small peptides, such as hexarelin (Zentaris) and ipamorelin (Novo Nordisk), and adenosine analogues, as well as small molecules such as carpomorelin (Pfizer), L-252,564 (Merck). MK-0677 (Merck), NN7203 (Novo Nordisk), G-7203 (Genentech), S-37435 (Kaken) and SM-130868 (Sumitomo), designed to be orally active for the stimulation of growth hormone. However, clinical testing with such agents have rendered disappointing results due to, among other things, lack of efficacy over prolonged treatment or undesired side effects, including irreversible inhibition of cytochrome P450 enzymes (Zdravkovic M.; Olse, A. K.; Christiansen, T.; et al. Eur. J. Clin. Pharmacol. 2003, 58, 683-688.) Therefore, there remains a need for pharmacological agents that could effectively target the GHS-R1a receptor for therapeutic action.
Despite its involvement in GH modulation, ghrelin is primarily synthesized in the oxyntic gland of the stomach, although it is also produced in lesser amounts in other organs, including the kidney, pancreas and hypothalamus. (Kojima, M.; Hsoda, H.; Kangawa, K. Purification and distribution of ghrelin: the natural endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor. Horm. Res. 2001, 56 (Suppl. 1), 93-97; Ariyasu, H.; Takaya, K.; Tagami, T.; et al. Stomach is a major source of circulating ghrelin, and feeding state determines plasma ghrelin-like immunoreactivity levels in humans. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2001, 86, 4753-4758) In addition to its role in stimulating GH release, the hormone has a variety of other endocrine and non-endocrine functions (Broglio, F.; Gottero, C.; Arvat, E.; Ghigo, E. Endocrine and non-endocrine actions of ghrelin. Horm. Res. 2003, 59, 109-117) and has been shown to interact with a number of other systems in playing a role in maintaining proper energy balance. (Horvath. T. L.; Diano, S.; Sotonyi, P.; Heiman, M.; Tschöp, M. Ghrelin and the regulation of energy balance—a hypothalamic perspective. Endocrinology 2001, 142, 4163-4169; Casanueva, F. F.; Dieguez, C. Ghrelin: the link connecting growth with metabolism and energy homeostasis. Rev. Endocrinol. Metab. Disord. 2002, 3, 325-338). In particular, ghrelin plays a role as an orexigenic signal in the control of feeding, in which it acts to counteract the effects of leptin. Indeed, it was the first gut peptide proven to have such orexigenic properties. (Kojima, M.; Kangawa, K. Ghrelin, an orexigenic signaling molecule from the gastrointestinal tract. Curr. Opin. Pharmacology 2002, 2, 665-668.) The hormone also is implicated in the hypothalamic regulation of the synthesis and secretion of a number of other neuropeptides involved in appetite and feeding behavior. Levels of ghrelin are elevated in response to fasting or extended food restriction. (Nakazato, M.; Murakami, N.; Date, Y.; Kojima, M.; et al. A role for ghrelin in the central regulation of feeding. Nature 2001, 409, 194-198) For example, subjects suffering with anorexia or bulimia exhibit elevated ghrelin levels. Circulating levels of the hormone have been found to rise before meals and fall after meals. In addition, diet-induced weight loss leads to increased ghrelin levels, although obese subjects who have gastric bypass surgery do not likewise experience such an increase. (Cummings, D. E.; Weigle, D. S.; Frayo, R. S.; et al. Plasma ghrelin levels after diet-induced weight loss or gastric bypass surgery. N. Engl. J. Med. 2002, 346, 1623-1630)
This intimate involvement of ghrelin in control of food intake and appetite has made it an attractive target for obesity research. Indeed, few other natural substances have been demonstrated to be involved in the modulation of both GH secretion and food intake.
An additional effect of ghrelin that has not to date been exploited for therapeutic purposes is in modulating gastric motility and gastric acid secretion. The prokinetic activity appears to be independent of the GH-secretory action and is likely mediated by the vagal-cholinergic muscarinic pathway. The dose levels required are equivalent to those necessary for the hormone's GH and appetite stimulation actions. It is noteworthy that, in contrast to its inactivity for ghrelin's other actions, the des-Gln14 peptide demonstrated promotion of motility as well. (Trudel, L.; Bouin, M.; Tomasetto, C.; Eberling, P.; St-Pierre, S.; Bannon, P.; L'Heureux, M. C.: Poitras, P. Two new peptides to improve post-operative gastric ileus in dog. Peptides 2003, 24, 531-534; Trudel, L.; Tomasetto, C.; Rio, M. C.; Bouin, M.; Plourde, V.; Eberling, P.; Poitras, P. Ghrelin/motilin-related peptide is a potent prokinetic to reverse gastric postoperative ileus in rats. Am. J. Physiol. 2002, 282, G948-G952; Peeters, T. L. Central and peripheral mechanisms by which ghrelin regulates gut motility. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 2003, 54(Supp. 4), 95-103.)
Ghrelin also has been implicated in various aspects of reproduction and neonatal development. (Arvat, E.; Gianotti, L.; Giordano, R.; et al. Growth hormone-releasing hormone and growth hormone secretagogue-receptor ligands. Focus on reproductive system. Endocrine 2001, 14, 35-43) Also of significance are the cardiovascular effects of ghrelin, since the peptide is a powerful vasodilator. As such, ghrelin agonists have potential for the treatment of chronic heart failure (Nagaya, N.; Kangawa, K. Ghrelin, a novel growth hormone-relasing peptide, in the treatment of chronic heart failure. Regul. Pept. 2003, 114, 71-77; Nagaya, N.; Kangawa, K. Ghrelin improves left ventricular dysfunction and cardiac cachexia in heart failure. Curr. Opin. Phannacol. 2003, 3, 146-151; Bedendi, I.; Alloatti, G.; Marcantoni, A.; Malan, D.; Catapano, F.; Ghé, C.; et al. Cardiac effects of ghrelin and its endogenous derivatives des-octanoyl ghrelin and des-Gln14-ghrelin. Eur. J. Pharmacol. 2003, 476, 87-95) Intl. Pat. Appl. Publ. WO 2004/014412 describes the use of ghrelin agonists for the protection of cell death in myocardial cells and as a cardioprotectant treatment for conditions leading to heart failure. Lastly, evidence has been obtained that ghrelin may have implications in anxiety and other CNS disorders as well as the improvement of memory. (Carlini, V. P., Monzon, M. E., Vans, M. M., Cragnolini, A. B., Schioth, H. B., Scimonelli, T. N., de Barioglio, S. R. Ghrelin increases anxiety-like behavior and memory retention in rats. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 2002, 299, 739-743)
The myriad effects of ghrelin in humans have suggested the existence of subtypes for its receptor, although none have as yet been identified. (Torsello, A.; Locatelli, Y.; Melis, M. R.; Succu, S.; Spano, M. S.; Deghenghi, R.; Muller, E. E.: Argiolas, A.; Torsello, A.; Locatelli, V.; et al. Differential orexigenic effects of hexarelin and its analogs in the rat hypothalamus: indication for multiple growth hormone secretagogue receptor subtypes. Neuroendocrinology 2000, 72, 327-332.) However, a truncated, inactive form of GHS-R1a, termed GHS-R1b, was isolated and identified during the original characterization studies. Evidence is mounting that additional receptor subtypes could be present in different tissues to explain the diverse effects displayed by the endogenous peptides and synthetic GHS. For instance, high affinity binding sites for ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin have also been found in breast cancer cell lines, cardiomyocytes, and guinea pig heart that are involved in mediating the antiproliferative, cardioprotective and negative cardiac inotropic effects of these peptides. Similarly, specific GHS binding sites besides GHS-R1a and GHS-R1b have been found in prostate cancer cells. Further, ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin exert different effects on cell proliferation in prostate carcinoma cell lines. (Cassoni, P.; Ghé, C.; Marrocco, T.; et al. Expression of ghrelin and biological activity of specific receptors for ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin in human prostate neoplasms and related cell lines, Eur. J. Endocrinol. 2004, 150, 173-184) These various receptor subtypes may then be implicated independently in the wide array of biological activities displayed by the endogenous peptides and synthetic GHS. Indeed, recently, the existence of receptor subtypes was offered as an explanation for the promotion of fat accumulation by ghrelin, despite its potent stimulation of the lipolytic hormone, growth hormone, (Thompson, N. M.; Gill, D. A. S.; Davies, R.; Loveridge, N.; Houston, P. A.; Robinson, I. C. A. F.; Wells, T. Ghrelin and des-octanoyl ghrelin promote adipogenesis directly in vivo by a mechanism independent of the type 1a growth hormone secretagogue receptor. Endocrinology 2004, 145, 234-242.) Further, this work suggested that the ratio of ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin production could help regulate the balance between adipogenesis and lipolysis in response to nutritional status.
The successful creation of peptidic ghrelin analogues that separate the GH-modulating effects of ghrelin from the effects on weight gain and appetite provides strong evidence for the existence and physiological relevance of other receptor subtypes. (Halem, H. A.; Taylor, J. E.; Dong, J. Z.; Shen, Y.; Datta, R.; Ahizaid, A.; Diano, S.; Horvath, T.; Zizzari, P.; Bluet-Pajot, M.-T.; Epelbaum, J.; Culler, M. D. Novel analogs of ghrelin: physiological and clinical implications. Eur. J. Endocrinol. 2004, 151, S71-S75.) BIM-28163 functions as an antagonist at the GHS-R1a receptor and inhibits receptor activation by native ghrelin. However, this same molecule is a full agonist with respect to stimulating weight gain and food intake. Additionally, the existence of a still uncharacterized receptor subtype has been proposed based on binding studies in various tissues that showed differences between peptidic and non-peptidic GHS. (Ong, H.; Menicoll, N.; Escher, F.; Collu, R.; Deghenghi, R.; Locatelli, V.; Ghigo, E.; Muccioli, G.; Boghen, M.; Nilsson, M. Endocrinology 1998, 139, 432- 435.) Differences between overall GHS-R expression and that of the GHS-R1a subtype in rat testis have been reported. (Barreiro, M. L.; Suominen, J. S.; Gaytan, F.; Pinilla, L.; Chopin, L. K.; Casanueva, F. F.; Dieguez, C.; Aguilar, E.; Toppari, J.; Tena-Sempere, M. Developmental, stage-specific, and hormonally regulated expression of growth hormone secretagogue receptor messenger RNA in rat testis. Biol. Reproduction 2003, 68, 1631-1640) A GHS-R subtype on cholinergic nerves is postulated as an explanation for the differential actions of ghrelin and a peptidic GHS on neural contractile response observed during binding studies at the motilin receptor. (Depoortere, I.; Thijs, T.; Thielemans, L.; Robberecht, P.; Peeters, T. L. Interaction of the growth hormone-releasing peptides ghrelin and growth hormone-releasing peptide-6 with the motilin receptor in the rabbit gastric antrum. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther 2003, 305, 660-667.)
The variety of activities associated with the ghrelin receptor could also be due to different agonists activating different signaling pathways as has been shown for ghrelin and adenosine, both of which interact as agonists at GHS-R1a (Carreira, M. C.; Camina, J. P.; Smith, R. G.; Casanueva, F. F. Agonist-specific coupling of growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a to different intracellular signaling systems. Role of adenosine. Neuroendocrinology 2004, 79, 13-25.)
The functional activity of a GPCR has been shown to often require the formation of dimers or other multimeric complexes with itself or other proteins. (Park, P. S.; Filipek, S.; Wells, J. W.; Palczewski, K. Oligomerization of G protein-coupled receptors: past, present, and future. Biochemistry 2004, 43, 15643-15656; Rios, C. D.; Jordan, B. A.; Gomes, I.; Devi, L. A. G-protein-coupled receptor dimerization: modulation of receptor function. Pharmacol. Ther. 2001, 92, 71-87; Devi, L. A. Heterodimerization of G-protein-coupled receptors: pharmacology, signaling and trafficking. Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 2001, 22, 532-537.) Likewise, the activity of the ghrelin receptor might also be at least partially governed by such complexes. For example, certain reports indicate that interaction of GHS-R1a with GHRH (Cunha, S. R.; Mayo, K. E. Ghrelin and growth hormone (GH) secreatagogues potentiate GH-releasing hormone (GHRH)-induced cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate production in cells expressing transfected GHRH and GH secretagogue receptors. Endocrinology 2002, 143, 4570-4582; Malagón, M. M.; Luque, R. M.; Ruiz-Guerrero, E.; Rodriguez-Pacheco, F.; Garcia-Navarro, S.; Casanueva, F. F.; Gracia-Navarro, F.; Castaño, J. P. Intracellular signaling mechanisms mediating ghrelin-stimulated growth hormone release in somatotropes Endocrinology 2003, 144, 5372-5380) or between receptor subtypes (Chan, C. B.; Cheng, C. H. K. Identification and functional characterization of two alternatively spliced growth hormone secretagogue receptor transcripts from the pituitary of black seabream Acanthopagrus schlegeli. Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 2004, 214, 81-95) may be involved in modulating the function of the receptor.
The vast majority of reported approaches to exploiting the ghrelin receptor for therapeutic purposes have focused on modulating metabolic functions. Similarly, the vast majority of literature on GHS focuses on conditions that can be treated via its GH promoting actions. Some embodiments of the invention described herein, in particular, take advantage of selective activation of the ghrelin receptor to provide an avenue for the treatment of diseases characterized by GI dysmotility. The improved GI motility observed with ghrelin demonstrates that ghrelin agonists may be useful in correcting conditions associated with reduced or restricted motility (Murray, C. D. R.; Kamm, M. A.; Bloom, S. R.; Emmanuel, A. V. Ghrelin for the gastroenterologist: history and potential. Gastroenterology 2003, 125, 1492-1502; Fujino, K.; Inui, A.; Asakawa, A.; Kihara, N.; Fujimura, M.; Fujimiya, M. Ghrelin induces fasting motor activity of the gastrointestinal tract in conscious fed rats. J. Physiol. 2003, 550, 227-240; Edholm, T.; Levin, F.; Hellström, P. M.; Schmidt, P. T. Ghrelin stimulates motility in the small intestine of rats through intrinsic cholinergic neurons. Regul. Pept. 2004, 121, 25-30.)
Included among these conditions is post-operative ileus (POI, Luckey, A.; Livingston, E.; Taché, Y. Mechanisms and treatment of postoperative ileus. Arch. Surg. 2003, 138, 206-214; Baig, M. K.; Wexner, S. D. Postoperative ileus: a review. Dis. Colon Rectum 2004, 47, 516-526). POI is defined as the impairment of GI motility that routinely occurs following abdominal, intestinal, gynecological and pelvic surgeries. In the U.S. alone, 4.3 million surgeries annually induce POI, accounting for an economic impact of over $1 billion. POI is considered a deleterious response to surgical manipulation with a variable duration that generally persists for 72 hours. It is characterized by pain, abdominal distention or bloating, nausea and vomiting, accumulation of gas and fluids in the bowel, and delayed passage of stool. Patients are neither able to tolerate oral feeding nor to have bowel movements until gut function returns. POI leads to numerous undesirable consequences, including increased patient morbidity, the costly prolongation of hospital stays and, further, is a major cause of hospital readmission. In addition, opiate drugs given as analgesics after surgery exacerbate this condition due to their well-recognized side effect of inhibiting bowel function.
Surgical manipulation of the stomach or intestine causes a disorganization of the gut-brain signaling pathways, impairing GI activity and triggering POI. Ghrelin acts locally in the stomach to stimulate and coordinate the firing of vagal afferent neurons and thereby modulate gut motility. Thus, ghrelin accelerates gastric emptying in humans (Inui, A.; Asakawa, A.; Bowers, C. Y.; Mantovani, G.; Laviano, A.; Meguid, M. M.; Fujimiya, M. Ghrelin, appetite, and gastric motility: the emerging role of the stomach as an endocrine organ. FASEB J. 2004, 18, 439-456; Peeters, T. L. Central and peripheral mechanisms by which ghrelin regulates gut motility. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 2003, 54(Supp. 4), 95-103.) and is a potent agent proven to treat POI in animal models (Trudel. L.; Tomasetto, C.; Rio, M. C.; Bouin, M.; Plourde, V.; Eberling, P.; Poitras, P. Ghrelin/motilin-related peptide is a potent prokinetic to reverse gastric postoperative ileus in rats. Am. J. Physiol. 2002, 282, G948-G952; Trudel, L.; Bouin, M.; Tomasetto, C.; Eberling, P.; St-Pierre, S.; Bannon, P.; L'Heureux, M. C.; Poitras, P. Two new peptides to improve post-operative gastric ileus in dog. Peptides 2003, 24, 531-534). Ghrelin agonists duplicate the effects of ghrelin, thus targeting directly the underlying cause of POI to accelerate normalization of gut function and enable more rapid discharge from the hospital. Intravenous administration is often the preferred route of treatment for POI due to the impaired GI motility in these patients that impedes oral therapy. No agent is currently approved by the U.S. FDA specifically for the treatment of POI.
Another major motility disorder is gastroparesis, a particular problem for both type I and type II diabetics. (Camilleri, M. Advances in diabetic gastroparesis. Rev. Gastroenterol. Disord. 2002, 2, 47-56; Tack et al. Gastroenterology 2004; 126: A485; Moreaux, B.; VandenBerg, J.; Thielmans, L.; Meulemans, A.; Coulie, B. Activation of the GHS receptor accelerates gastric emptying in the dog. Digestive Disease Week, 15-20 May 2004, New Orleans, La., USA Abstract M1009; Tack et al. Gastroenterology 2004, 126: A74) Gastroparesis (“stomach paralysis”) is a syndrome characterized by delayed gastric emptying in the absence of any mechanical obstruction. It is variably characterized by abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, weight loss, anorexia, early satiety, malnutrition, dehydration, gastroesophageal reflux, cramping and bloating. This chronic condition can lead to frequent hospitalization, increased disability and decreased quality of life. Severe, symptomatic gastroparesis is common in individuals suffering from diabetes, affecting from 5-10% of diabetics for a total patient population of 1 million in the U.S. alone. Neuropathy is a frequent, debilitating complication of diabetes. Visceral neuropathy results in GI dysfunction, especially involving the stomach, leading to impaired gastric motility. Ghrelin promotes gastric emptying both by stimulating the vagus nerve and via direct prokinetic action at the gastric mucosa. Moreover, a recent clinical study indicates that intravenous administration of the natural ghrelin peptide is an effective acute therapy in diabetic gastroparesis patients. A ghrelin agonist would therefore be highly effective in over-coming the fundamental motility barrier faced by gastroparesis patients and correcting this condition. As with POI, no accepted or efficacious therapy for diabetic gastroparesis is available and most current therapies aim to provide only symptomatic relief. Further, many of the therapeutics in development have a mechanism of action similar to earlier products that have failed in this indication. Surgical procedures may ameliorate the disease process, but offer no possibility of cure.
Opioid-induced bowel dysfunction (OBD, Kurz, A.; Sessler, D. J. Opioid-Induced Bowel Dysfunction. Drugs 2003, 63, 649-671.) is the term applied to the confluence of symptoms involving the reduced GI motility that results from treatment with opioid analgesics. Approximately 40-50% of patients taking opioids for pain control experience OBD. It is characterized by hard, dry stools, straining, incomplete evacuation, bloating, abdominal distension and increased gastric reflux. In addition to the obvious short-term distress, this condition leads to physical and psychological deterioration in patients undergoing long term opioid treatment, Further, the dysfunction can be so severe as to become a dose-limiting adverse effect that actually prevents adequate pain control. As with POI, a ghrelin agonist can be expected to counteract the dysmotility resulting from opioid use.
Two less common conditions may also be helped through the GI motility stimulation effects of ghrelin and ghrelin agonists. Short bowel syndrome is a condition that occurs after resection of a substantial portion of small intestine and is characterized by malnutrition. Patients are observed to have decreased ghrelin levels resulting from loss of the ghrelin-producing neuroendocrine cells of the intestine. It is possible the short bowel feeds back on the release of the hormone. (Krsek, M.; Rosicka, M.; Haluzik, M.; et al. Plasma ghrelin levels in patients with short bowel syndrome. Endocr. Res. 2002, 28, 27-33.) Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction is a syndrome defined by the presence of chronic intestinal dilation and dysmotility in the absence of mechanical obstruction or inflammation. Both genetic and acquired causes are known to result in this disorder, which affects high numbers of individuals worldwide annually. (Hirano. I.; Pandolfino, J. Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction. Dig. Dis. 2000, 18, 83-92.)
Other conditions and disorders that could be addressed through stimulation of the ghrelin receptor are: emesis such as caused by cancer chemotherapy, constipation such as associated with the hypomotility phase of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), delayed gastric emptying associated with wasting conditions, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), gastric ulcers (Sibilia, V.; Rindi, G.; Pagani, F.; Rapetti, D.; Locatelli, V; Torsello, A.; Campanini, N.; Degenghi, R.; Netti, C. Ghrelin protects against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers in rats: studies on the mechanism of action. Endocrinology 2003, 144, 353-359.) and Crohn's disease.
Additionally, GI dysmotility is a significant problem in other mammals as well. For example, the motility dysfunction termed ileus or colic is the number one cause of mortality among horses. Further, ileus is one of the most common complications of equine intestinal surgery, in other words, post-operative ileus. This condition may also have a non-surgical etiology. Some horses may be predisposed to ileus based upon the anatomy and functioning of their digestive tract. Virtually any horse is susceptible to colic with only minor differences based upon age, sex and breed. Additionally, ileus may affect other animals, for example canines. (Roussel, A. J., Jr.; Cohen, N. D.; Hooper, R. N.; Rakestraw, P. C. Risk factors associated with development of postoperative ileus in horses. J. Am Vet. Med Assoc. 2001, 219, 72-78; Van Hoogmoed, L. M.; Nieto, J. E.; Snyder, J. R.; Harmon, F. A. Survey of prokinetic use in horses with gastrointestinal injury. Vet. Surg. 2004, 33, 279-285.)
Importantly, for most of the above conditions, no specific, approved therapeutics exist and most therapies simply address symptomatic relief. However, specific modulation of the ghrelin receptor provides an opportunity to directly target the site of pathophysiological disturbance to better treat the underlying condition and improve clinical outcome. Further, unlike other agents that interact at the GHS-R1a receptor, the compounds of the invention are believed not to stimulate concurrent GH secretion. This separation of the gastrointestinal and GH effects has not previously been reported for any modulators of this receptor. However, as already mentioned, the existence of analogues that separate the appetite control and GH modulatory effects associated with ghrelin has been recently reported.
WO 01/00830 reports on short gastrointestinal peptides (SGIP) that secrete growth hormone and also promote GI motility, but these were not shown to be due to action at the ghrelin receptor. U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,501 discloses specific compounds, but as GHS, useful for stimulation of GI motility. Moreover, other endogenous factors are known to stimulate secretion of GH, but do not promote GI motility. Indeed, many actually inhibit this physiological function. Specific receptor agonists such as the compounds of the present invention have much better potential to be selective and effective therapeutic agents.
Work has continued at the development of potent and selective GHS with a number of small molecule derivatives now being known as has been recently summarized. (Carpino, P. Exp. Opin. Ther. Patents 2002, 12, 1599-1618.) Specific GHS are described in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. and Intl. Pat. Appl. Publs. WO 89/07110; WO 89/07111; WO 92/07578; WO 93/04081; WO 94/11012; WO 94/13696; WO 94/19367; WO 95/11029; WO 95/13069; WO 95/14666; WO 95/17422; WO 95/17423; WO 95/34311; WO 96/02530; WO 96/15148; WO 96/22996; WO 96/22997; WO 96/24580; WO 96/24587; WO 96/32943; WO 96/33189; WO 96/35713; WO 96/38471; WO 97/00894; WO 97/06803; WO 97/07117; WO 97/09060; WO 97/11697; WO 97/15191; WO 97/15573; WO 97/21730; WO 97/22004; WO 97/22367; WO 97/22620; WO 97/23508; WO 97/24369; WO 97/34604; WO 97/36873; WO 97/38709; WO 97/40023; WO 97/40071; WO 97/41878; WO 97/41879; WO 97/43278; WO 97/44042; WO 97/46252; WO 98/03473; WO 98/10653; WO 98/18815; WO 98/22124; WO 98/46569; WO 98/51687; WO 98/58947; WO 98/58948; WO 98/58949; WO 98/58950; WO 99/08697; WO 99/09991; WO 99/36431; WO 99/39730; WO 99/45029; WO 99/58501; WO 99/64456; WO 99/65486, WO 99/65488; WO 00/01726; WO 00/10975; WO 01/47558; WO 01/92292; WO 01/96300; WO 01/97831; U.S. Pat. No. 3,239,345; U.S. Pat. No. 4,036,979; U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,890; U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,916; U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,919; U.S. Pat. No. 5,559,128; U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,171; U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,250; U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,251; U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,616; U.S. Pat. No. 5,726,319; U.S. Pat. No. 5,767,124; U.S. Pat. No. 5,798,337; U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,433; U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,777; U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,216; U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,501; U.S. Pat. No. 6,559,150; U.S. Pat. No. 6,576,686; U.S. Pat. No. 6,686,359; and U.S. Pat. Appl. Nos. 2002/0168343; 2003/100494; 2003/130284; 2003/186844.
Despite this immense body of work, cyclic compounds have rarely been found to act at the receptor. When they have, antagonist activity has been more prevalent. For example, the 14-amino acid compound, vapreotide, an SRIH-14 agonist and somatostatin mimetic, was demonstrated to be a ghrelin antagonist. (Deghenghi R, Papotti M, Ghigo E, et al. Somatostatin octapeptides (lanreotide, octreotide, vapreotide, and their analogs) share the growth hormone-releasing peptide receptor in the human pituitary gland. Endocrine 2001, 14, 29-33.) The binding and antagonist activities of analogues of cortistatin, a cyclic neuropeptide known to bind nonselectively to somatostatin receptors, to the growth hormone secretagogue receptor have been reported (Intl. Pat. Appl. WO 03/004518). (Deghenghi R, Broglio F, Papotti M, et al. Targeting the ghrelin receptor—Orally active GHS and cortistatin analogs. Endocrine 2003, 22, 13-18) In particular, one of these analogues, EP-01492 (cortistatin-8) has been advanced into preclinical studies for the treatment of obesity as a ghrelin antagonist. These compounds exhibit an IC50 of 24-33 nM. In addition, these cyclic compounds and their derivatives, plus their use with metal binding agents have been described for their ability to be useful for radiodiagnostic or radiotherapeutic use in the treatment of tumors and acromegaly.
Cyclic and linear analogues of growth hormone 177-191 have been studied as treatments for obesity (WO 99/12969), with one particular compound, AOD9604, having entered the clinic for this indication. A compound already studied that is most similar to the molecules of the present invention is the GHS, G-7203 (EC50=0.43 nM), the cyclic peptide analogue of the growth hormone releasing peptide, GHRP-2 (Elias, K. A.; Ingle, G. S.; Burnier, J. P.; Hammonds, G.; McDowell, R. S.; Rawson, T. E.; Somers, T. C.; Stanley, M. S.; Cronin, M. J. In vitro characterization of four novel classes of growth hormone-releasing peptide. Endocrinol. 1995, 136, 5694-5699). However, simplification of this cyclic derivative led to still potent, linear compounds, whereas, for compounds of the invention, linear analogues have been found to be devoid of ghrelin receptor activity.
The macrocyclic compounds of the invention possess agonist activity. As previously mentioned, however, unlike other agonists of the hGHS-R1a receptor, the compounds of the invention unexpectedly have an insignificant stimulatory effect on the release of growth hormone. Accordingly, the compounds of the present invention can exhibit selective action in the GI tract or for metabolic disorders without side effects due to GH release.